Lamborghini Murciélago

Named, in Lamborghini tradition, after a Spanish fighting bull, the Murciélago replaced the long-running Diablo when it reached the market in 2002. It was the first entirely new car the company engineered after Audi took ownership of the Sant'Agata factory, and Luc Donckerwolke's angular wedge gave the marque its first clean-sheet design in eleven years. Scissor doors and side intakes that rose automatically at speed preserved the theatrical Lamborghini idiom, while the structure and all-wheel-drive hardware beneath were more thoroughly developed than any earlier Sant'Agata car.

Power came from a naturally aspirated V12 mounted longitudinally behind the cabin and driving all four wheels. A mid-life revision enlarged the displacement and reorganised the model designations around the engine's metric output, giving rise to the LP 640; a stripped, stiffened SuperVeloce later crowned the range. Throughout, the Murciélago kept the wide, low proportions and the manual and automated-manual gearboxes expected of a Sant'Agata flagship.

Production ran until 2010, when the line closed after 4,099 cars in coupé and roadster forms. The Aventador took its place as Lamborghini's twelve-cylinder flagship, but the Murciélago remains notable as the model that carried the company through its first decade under Audi and re-established the naturally aspirated V12 Lamborghini for the modern era.